What are you trying to upgrade (i.e. What's missing in your current sound? Is it bass? Is it imaging, soundstaging, air, shrillness, sibilance, etc.?)

What's your budget?

It sounds to me that the most pressing upgrade is your speakers. Since you're looking for more bass and soundstaging, there are a few speakers I can recommend:

Paradigm Studio 100 = approx $3k new and about $2k used. It's now in it's 4th version. I heard every version since v2 and they all sound good with each version getting progressively better.

Gallo Reference 3.0 or 3.1 = approx $3k new and $1500 used. It's a very good speaker for the money.

Magnepan 1.6 = approx $2k new and $1100 used. It's a giant killer. Incredible midrange, incredible highs, presence and envelopment are unmatched in this price range. Alas, no bass.

I think that your speakers are the most pressing upgrade at this point. Your electronics are pretty decent and can wait to be upgraded once you've acquired the speakers that are capable of taking advantage of better electronics.

I'd consider acoustical room treatments, as your speakers are only as good as your room. You also might consider a Monitor Audio RSW-12 subwoofer for $764 to complement your very good RS6s. With the low bass extension taken from your RS6s they will do better. There will be some who say loudspeakers never intergrate well with subwoofers, but there have been successful implementations. Then I'd consider a better, more powerful amplifier like a Musical Fidelity A5.5 ($3000), NAD M3 ($2800) or Shanling A-3000 ($1800).

I'm kinda thinking the problem might not be your loudspeakers but perhaps is your room.
http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/306monitor/
http://www.gikacoustics.com/
http://www.realtraps.com/
http://www.acoustimac.com/
http://www.atsacoustics.com/cat--ATS-Acoustic-Panels--100.html

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Hey Thanks for the reply,
I have two questions based on what you said:
1)Paradigm Studio 100 can handle 200W....so is it ok to hook it up with a meager 80w/channel NAD C352. Will this 80W/channel be able to drive such big speakers.

YES, no problem. Paradigm says "Suitable Amplifier
Power Range" for that speaker is 15 - 350 watts.

The Paradigms can be driven by an 80wpc amp without a problem. They can handle up to 200watts, but that doesn't mean they need that much power.

As far as a sub is concerned, I have never heard a sub successfully integrated with satellites. Others have differing opinions on the matter, but every time I hear a sub in a system, there's always either a frequency response hole that's not covered by either a sub or a satellite or the tonal quality is different. I prefer full range speakers that have no driver integration issues. Furthermore, you said that you lack soundstaging (envelopment). That's something that a sub won't give you. That requires a different set of speakers.

Hopes this helps.

PS. Don't sweat asking questions. How else are you going to know?

If you have echoes in your room, put in more soft furniture, bookshelves stuffed with books and a rug. That will cure that.

They are billed as full range, but they're not really. I heard them. I think they're good sounding speakers, but they have no bass. In any event, any speaker can be a satellite once you add a subwoofer to it. So, when I refer to a 'satellite', I mean in as in a separate subwoofer/speaker configuration, rather than referring to a bookshelf or a small speaker.

IMO you have perfectly competent equipment. Your speakers have plenty of bass potential but for organ aficionados and you have good solid amplification.

It is the room you are fighting. It is well worth adding $1,500-2,000 of well engineered acoustic treatments to your system. This will get you well on your way. The soundstage will get wider and deeper, hidden details will emerge, bass will get stronger and cleaner - all at the same time.

It's hard to get excited about buying room treatments. They don't plug in, there are no LEDs or other goodies, etc.

But they will provide what you seek.

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They are billed as full range, but they're not really. I heard them. I think they're good sounding speakers, but they have no bass.

Alex,

The term "full range" confuses me. I've listened to a number of speakers that were considered full range but they all had different frequency responses. So how would one define a "full range" speaker"? Or is it more than just freq response? Does being a 2, 2.5 or 3 way speaker have any bearing? Thanks.

Mike

Quote:

Alex,

The term "full range" confuses me. I've listened to a number of speakers that were considered full range but they all had different frequency responses. So how would one define a "full range" speaker"? Or is it more than just freq response? Does being a 2, 2.5 or 3 way speaker have any bearing? Thanks.

Mike

My definition of a full range speaker is a speaker that covers from 25-20khz with no more than -3db drop off at the frequency extremes. I don't consider speakers that are rated at 35hz, 30hz to be full range. I also don't consider speakers to be full range if they're rated at 25hz with -6db dropoff.

As far as speaker topology is concerned, I really don't care what its design is as long as it achieves its goals. However, I do find that speakers that are truly full range (as per my definition) tend to be 3-way or more and they tend to be on the large side.

Finding speakers, nowadays, that meet those specs and are reasonably priced ($2k, +/-) is difficult. The closest that I've ever come to such a speaker is a pair of Polk Monitor 10s, that I bought nearly 30 years ago...and still own.

I agree that it's difficult, if not impossible to find truly full range speakers in the $2k range. I didn't realize we were talking about a $2k speaker budget. Regardless, my definition still stands with regard to what I consider to be a full range speaker.

I certainly agree with your definition, of full range. And, yes, at a $2k price tag locating such a speaker (thtsounds good) is nearly impossibe.

If they can make a source (cd, sacd, lp) that produces these frequencies why can't they make a speaker (at a reasonable price) that reproduces the sound?

I don't think it is correct to expect a "full range" loudspeaker to be restricted to a specific frequency range. For the reproduction of music it is not necessary to have a low bass extension of 25 Hz

I've yet to hear a speaker that extends to 35hz that is as full sounding and complete as one that extends to 25hz. Music tends to sound much more real when a speaker is capable of producing lower frequencies. It's a difference between sounding real and sounding 'nice'. To me, anyway.

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The lowest note produced by the largest pipe organ is about 17 Hz, but how often do we listen to this kind of organ music, and if we do, how often is that lowest note hit?

Very few organs even have this capability.

40Hz covers the lowest note on a bass guitar or string bass as well as kick drum.

However, the speaker needs to be able to produce somewhere around 35Hz - 40Hz at full volume and accurate timbre to sound full range. For this to occur, the speaker needs to actually be able to go at least a bit lower. But if it handles 35Hz at -0dB it's full range.

Of course, the opposite end gets just as silly given that few of us can hear past 14-15kHz.